


listen before i go

by blushao (horizsan)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, No Sexual Content, also, do ignore how this is a conglomerate of like four different writing styles heehee, i have made it my mission to water the seoksoo tag, it is my job now i am no longer a babysitter, set in New York City, stream the mamma mia soundtrack btw, this is just cute it's fluff that's all, this was inspired by a tiktok pov made by @rustydrainpipe, warning: jisoo sings a song about being suicidal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24580507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horizsan/pseuds/blushao
Summary: In which Seokmin is mesmerized by the boy he sees every morning, hanging out his window and singing to the sky.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Seokmin | DK
Comments: 3
Kudos: 60





	listen before i go

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i am back, back again to water the seoksoo tag, because there isn't enough content for them out there.
> 
> warnings: there are like three swear words, and jisoo sings a song about being suicidal.
> 
> i hope you enjoy!
> 
> also, i will be posting a junhao oneshot for junhui's birthday on june 10th, US eastern time, so if that's something you'll be interested in, be on the lookout!

_take me to the rooftop, i wanna see the world when i stop breathing, turning blue; tell me love is endless_

Seokmin doesn’t like New York City much. It’s noisy, cramped, and way too big. Seokmin doesn’t like being quiet in comparison to anything, he doesn’t like tight enclosed spaces, and he doesn’t enjoy feeling tiny either. He might not like New York City as a whole, but he certainly does love his neighbor, who’s the tiniest little part of the city that never sleeps, but he’s Seokmin’s favorite part.

Just like every other street in the city, the apartment buildings on Seokmin’s street are pressed so close together that there’s barely room for one person to walk in between them. Seokmin’s neighbor lives in the apartment building next door to Seokmin’s, and although they don’t live in the same tower, Seokmin considers them to be neighbors because their bedroom windows are directly across from one another.

Seokmin loves his neighbor, because every morning, before everyone in the city is out and about and the constant noise of the bustle of life has begun, the boy opens his window, sticks his head and shoulders out, and sings to the sky. Seokmin leaves his window open at night, no matter how cold it may be, so that he’ll hear that angelic voice drifting through the air at dawn. When he gets home from work, he forces himself to stay awake and wait, knowing it will be only about thirty minutes more before he can listen to that heavenly voice again.

This morning, just like any other, Seokmin opens his eyes to the sound of that voice, like wind chimes ringing out between the city’s soundwaves. He hears the boy sing a song Seokmin has never heard before, from him or otherwise. “Take me to the rooftop, I wanna see the world when I stop breathing, turning blue…”

Seokmin sits up, growing slightly concerned. This was a sad song. His neighbor never sang songs that were particularly sad, he usually sang love songs, most of which were joyful, although some were indeed heart-wrenching. His favorites to sing were “You Are My Sunshine” and Queen’s “Somebody to Love”, along with Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning”. He also sang songs from the Mamma Mia soundtrack occasionally, belting out, “So when you’re near me, darling can’t you hear me, S.O.S!” and then laughing quietly to himself. He never sang songs like this, especially not this song in particular which appeared to be expressing wishes to no longer be alive.

Without thinking, Seokmin throws the blankets off of his body and dashes to his own window, poking his head out. “Excuse me, but are you alright?”

The boy looks up, and immediately jumps back, startled, banging his head on the top edge of the window. He rubs the back of his head, his face twisted in an expression of slight pain. “Yeah, I’m fine. Jeez, why’d you have to scare me like that?”

Seokmin offers up a sheepish smile, and replies, “Yeah, sorry about that...it’s just...you never sing sad songs, ever, and here you are this morning singing one that’s about...suicide? I think?”

The boy raises his eyebrows and asks, “You listen to me sing?” Seokmin nods, and the boy grimaces. “Jeez, that’s embarrassing.” He ducks his head, but Seokmin can still see the slight blush forming on his cheeks.

Seokmin says, “Oh, no, I love your voice. You’re a really good singer, and your voice is very...sweet-sounding. It’s like if sugar were a voice, if that makes any sense at all.” Now it’s Seokmin’s turn to direct his gaze down and blush.

“Oh. Well, thank you, I’m glad you like it. I had no idea anyone was ever listening to me. I thought I was just giving concerts to the sky.” He chuckles, and Seokmin smiles.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name? I’m Seokmin, and I work at the bar a few blocks west, you know, the one that’s a major tourist trap.”

The boy grins, the skin around his eyes crinkling slightly as the corners of his lips turn up. “Hi, Seokmin. I’m Jisoo, and I work at the exact same bar, I think. I work from 6 in the morning to 10 at night, on every day of the week except Sundays and Tuesdays. Why have I never seen you there before?”

Seokmin gestures with his hand to the clock behind him, and replies, “I work what I suppose you could consider the night shift, from 10pm to 5am. My days off, or I guess you could say nights off,” Seokmin snaps his fingers at Jisoo, pointing two playful finger guns at the boy with a wide smile on his face, his right eye closed in a wink, “are Wednesdays and Fridays.”

Jisoo tips his head back a bit, sticking the tip of his tongue out between his lips while he thinks, and even just for a second, Seokmin has a strange and sudden urge to kiss him.  _ What the fuck, Seokmin, stop it! You barely know him. _ “Ah, that’s why, then. Our shifts don’t overlap.” He begins to return back into his apartment, drawing his shoulders through the window, but keeping his head out. “Well, I have to go now, but I’ll see you around, Seokmin. It was nice to meet you.” He pulls his head inside, and closes the window, locking it and walking away so Seokmin can’t see him anymore.

Seokmin’s voice is faint and faltering when he says, “You never answered my question...you never said whether you were alright or not.”

-

It’s Wednesday, Seokmin’s night off, and he’s simply laying in his bed, bored out of his mind, tired, and completely and utterly unable to sleep. His window is open, as per usual, but he knows he won’t hear Jisoo sing again for a long time. He’d missed Jisoo’s usual “concert” this morning, as he’d been so exhausted he’d fallen asleep immediately upon coming home, and had slept right through it. But he keeps his ears on high alert, listening even though he expects he won’t hear anything, except the usual sounds of the city at night.

But at exactly 10:05 pm, Seokmin is staring at his clock when he hears exactly what he didn’t expect to hear. He hears that sweet sound, the sound of Jisoo’s voice. The man is singing the same song he’d sung when Seokmin had spoken to him, those words that scare Seokmin to his core, even though he doesn’t even really know Jisoo. “Take me to the rooftop, I wanna see the world when I stop breathing, turning blue…” Jisoo’s voice trails off, before he continues, raising his voice louder and snapping his fingers in a sort of metronome fashion, giving himself a beat to sing along to. “Tell me love is endless, don’t be so pretentious-”

Jisoo cuts himself off when Seokmin leaps out of bed and dashes to the window, poking his head out, hoping that Jisoo will ignore the absolute mess of a state his hair is currently in. “Seokmin, what are you doing up?” he asks, his brows drawn together in a frown, the space between them on his forehead slightly wrinkled.

Seokmin laughs a little, quiet and breathy, before he replies, “My sleep schedule is kinda fucked ‘cause of the shift I work. I would usually be going to work right about now, so my brain is wide awake right now, but then as soon as 6 am or so hits, I’ll be out like a light.”

Jisoo nods, and says, “Ah, I see.”

“You don’t usually sing at night, you usually sing in the mornings. Why the switch?”

Jisoo hesitates for a few moments, and Seokmin wonders if he’s overstepped somehow, crossed a line he can’t see. Jisoo is staring off into the distance at nothing, the lights of the skyscrapers reflecting in his dark eyes like a kaleidoscope, a sky of different colored star-like twinkles all trapped in two small circles. Seokmin is glad Jisoo isn’t focusing on him right now, and he can stare without Jisoo noticing and thinking he’s creepy. It’s a beautiful image for his sharp gaze to feast upon, the definition of a sight for sore eyes.

Seokmin quickly averts his gaze for a split second when Jisoo finally blinks, hoping it will hide the fact that he was staring. Jisoo’s voice breaks through the city’s white noise again, soft and sweet, just loud enough for Seokmin to hear without straining his ears. “Well, I’ll be honest. I kind of had a shitty day at work, and I use singing as a sort of stress reliever, or coping mechanism, whatever you wanna call it. So...yeah.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Jisoo. If you want to talk about it, I’m awake. Or I can sing with you if you want.”

Jisoo asks, “Oh, you sing? If that’s the case, feel free to join me.” A smile appears on his face, the skin around his eyes crinkling in that way that Seokmin finds to be so adorable.

Seokmin averts his eyes, a bashful grin on his face as he replies, “Well, I was in choir all throughout high school and college, and I wasn’t terrible, so I guess so, yeah.” Seokmin pulls his phone out of his pocket, and presses his thumb against the home button to unlock it as he asks, “What song were you singing? I’ve never heard it before, so I’ll have to look up the lyrics.”

“Oh, the song is ‘Listen Before I Go’ by Billie Eilish.”

Seokmin quickly types in the words, and he exclaims, “Ah, Billie Eilish! I’ve heard of her, yes, yes.”

“I don’t usually listen to her music, but I do like a few of her songs, and ‘Listen Before I Go’ is definitely one of my favorites. I related to it a lot when I first came to New York, and although I’m not really in the bad place I was in at that time, the song is still comforting to me.” Jisoo’s eyes dart around, as though he’s trying to look everywhere but at Seokmin. It’s understandable, considering he just exposed a vulnerable side of him to someone who may as well be a complete stranger.

Seokmin reads through the lyrics, and he takes pity on Jisoo and changes the subject, saying, “So, shall we start?”

Jisoo nods, and on a countdown from three, they begin together, their voices intertwining like they were designed to go together, twirling through the air like the sound waves are ballet dancers leaping across a stage, like they’re strokes from a paint brush layering over one another to blend the perfect shade of blue-grey melancholy, like they’re pressed flowers between the pages of a poetry book, eloquent words mixing with hardening petals and leaves, stems brushing against one another for eternity. Seokmin meets Jisoo’s eyes as they sing the line, “Tell me love is endless,” and Jisoo looks away, a fierce blush blooming across his cheekbones. Seokmin smiles, and allows himself to think, even if only for a second, that there’s a small chance Jisoo’s heart has planted a seed in its outer layers of tissue, a tiny little crush that’s started to blossom, just like his heart has. He can only hope. And perhaps ask. But not now. It’s too early, too soon; he’ll seem too eager, too desperate, right?

Tears almost well up in Seokmin’s eyes as he listens to Jisoo sing the line, “That’s what a year-long headache does to you.” The man’s voice carries so much emotion, and Seokmin can tell that that line in particular means a lot to him. He lets his own voice fade away for a few seconds, so Jisoo’s voice rings out, clear and alone for a fraction of a moment, before the wave of time breaks on the shoreline of space again and the moment is washed away.

They finish the song, and Jisoo says, “Well, I’m going to go to bed, and you should do the same. You look awfully tired. Get some sleep, Seokmin.” Seokmin nods, and Jisoo adds, “See you tomorrow,” before he ducks his head inside, closing the window and giving Seokmin a last smile and wave before he closes the curtains too.

Seokmin closes his own window, but he doesn’t follow Jisoo’s advice. He stays awake, and does what he hadn’t done in years until tonight. He sings, his voice reverberating in the cramped space of his apartment, bouncing off the walls and Seokmin wonders how he never noticed that the acoustics of his place were this good. He sings that one song from the  _ Mamma Mia _ soundtrack that he knows Jisoo especially likes, since he sings it very often, the one that goes, “I love you, can’t deny it ‘cause it’s true, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do…” He sings it over and over again until the lyrics don’t sound like real words anymore and he can barely keep his eyes open, and when he finally falls asleep, that ethereal moment that hung in the air for a split second before it fell away of Jisoo singing that beautiful line plays over and over again behind his eyelids.

-

It takes longer than expected for Seokmin and Jisoo’s paths to cross again (three days to be exact) but when it happens, Seokmin is overjoyed. Seokmin is sitting on the steps of his apartment building, waiting for a friend to come pick him up for another friend’s birthday party, tuning his guitar by ear so he can play a little something for the birthday boy (and by a little something, Seokmin means Riptide, Seungkwan loves that song for some reason), when Jisoo walks up to him and offers up a timid little greeting. “Hi, Seokmin, how’ve you been?”

Seokmin looks up and a smile appears on his face like the rising sun leaping over the horizon, and he replies, “Hi, Jisoo! I’ve been well, what about you?” Behind Jisoo, he sees Soonyoung’s car pull into a parking spot across the road, and he curses under his breath. “Listen, Jisoo, I’m so sorry, I have to go now, actually, but if you’re up for it, we could grab coffee tomorrow morning?”

Jisoo nods, and assures him, “No, it’s totally fine, we all have lives and obligations. And yeah, that sounds perfect.”

Seokmin’s smile widens into a grin, and he says, “Alright, it’s a date,” out of pure instinct without thinking first.

Jisoo stammers, “A- a date?”

Seokmin halts with one foot halfway off the curb, and he turns to Jisoo, smile gone, replaced with a bashful expression, the left side of his bottom lip gripped between his teeth and his cheeks bright red. “I mean, if you want it to be a date, it can be a date, but if you don’t want that, then we’ll call it grabbing coffee as friends.”

Jisoo giggles, and says, “No, no, a date sounds perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow, Seokmin, have fun wherever you’re going!”

Now it’s Seokmin’s turn to be a stuttering mess as he stumbles across the street toward Soonyoung’s car. He calls back to Jisoo, “I will! Bye!” and shuts the car door behind him as soon as possible to hide his quickly deepening blush.

Soonyoung shoves an elbow into the side of Seokmin’s rib-cage, and teases, “So, who’s cute giggly boy?”

“Uh...someone I like. A lot.”

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! feel free to leave a comment, it would absolutely make my day :)
> 
> i hope you all have/had a good day, and i love you <3
> 
> if you would like to talk to me, you can find me on tumblr @horisans


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